I was introduced to Chris Owen, Monster Worldwide’s director of global integrated media, in the run up to Response Expo 2016. Chris spoke at that event last year — and at the recently passed Expo last month. Chris was always intrigued by the idea of a cover feature in Response, but he was clear throughout much of last year that the timing simply wasn’t right — the marketing department at Monster was undergoing some shifts. Finally, in early 2017, Chris and Brian Costello, the company’s vice president of performance marketing, stepped forward and said they (and the company) were ready. A perfect fit for our Expo issue cover, Monster has run the gamut of the marketing world during the past two decades, from TV branding to social media. Where are they now? If you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: Building a Marketing Monster

The fourth and final feature in our “Consumer Journey” series — which set the stage for a six-session track at the Expo — focuses on the post-purchase and advocacy phases. It used to be that when a consumer bought your product or service, marketers hoped the brand experience would be enough to bring them back. Today, with the advent of Amazon‘s immediate deliveries and constant communication, as well as the power of social media to amplify every consumers rants and/or raves, the purchase is merely the midpoint of the consumer journey. Former Response senior editor and long-time key freelancer Nicole Urso Reed nailed the assignment in this series, including highlighting key speakers slated for the Expo. In this issue alone, she caught up with Igor Credali of Kiko USA, Louis Monoyudis of Outer Places, and Michael Weinstein of Allstar Products. In case you skipped the link above: The Total Package

On April 27, the DR Hall of Fame welcomed seven new members as part of its fifth induction class: Michelle Cardinal, Jonathan Congdon, Carl Daikeler, Nancy Lazkani, Tim O’Leary, Lenny Sands, and Rob Woodrooffe. I was honored and thrilled to host both a panel conversation featuring five of those legends and the induction event on the final day of Response Expo. It’s an incredible class showing the breadth of the direct response marketing world. And in this special Q&A feature, you can hear from all seven about their careers and what led them into the Hall of Fame. Just in case you missed it above, here’s story link again: Industry Icons

Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings return to the long-form DRTV sector for fourth-quarter 2016 results. And while, for the ninth time in 10 years, the story for long-form was the same — an overall decrease for the year — the market has stabilized in 2015 and 2016 after suffering major losses in 2013 and 2014. An 8-percent dip in 4Q results was marked by continuing losses in national cable, as well as dipping pricing in that outlet. For a full look at 4Q 2016 long-form DRTV media billings, click here: Long-Form DRTV Billings Close 2016 With Another Decrease